"My son heard a bunch of racket over there," a neighbor said. "And he went over there and said, is there anything I can help you with? And her family came running out of the house saying, he killed her. He killed her."

When police arrived, they found Avila standing at the front door of the residence, wrapped in a bed sheet and covered in blood.

Police obtained a search warrant for the residence. When they asked Avila where the victim was, police said he remained silent but pointed upstairs.

Investigators said the woman had been strangled, beaten and had both eyeballs removed.

"She was a good girl too, and she was trying to get away from him," the neighbor said.

Two days before the murder, Avila checked himself into Wishard Memorial Hospital for a psychiatric evaluation, according to court documents.

He was scheduled to appear in court Wednesday for a competency hearing, but his attorney withdrew the motion, clearing the way for his trial for murder.

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